VideoAnother gift-giving season is upon us, and you know what that means: more agonizing over what to buy your favorite nerd. What are the latest "must-have" devices? The choices are endless. But here are a few of our favorite cameras, PDAs, computer games, and mobile phones for the most discriminating technology lover.
"Instant" Photography
The novelty of Sony Mavica cameras is that the pictures they take are stored as ordinary files on ordinary floppy disks that fit into the camera. Once shot, the pictures--via the floppy disk-- can be instantly loaded into your favorite word processor or graphics program, or put onto your Web page. Copies are equally easy. The camera can actually copy files from one floppy disk to another, so everyone goes home with a picture.
The top of the line is the MVC-FD88, which records still photos at 1,280 x 960 pixels, and can store 40 images at normal resolution and 10 images at the maximum resolution on a single floppy. It has a number of special features, including five autoexposure modes and four special effects, including sepia, black and white, negative, and solarization. A special "movie" mode lets you record up to 60 seconds' worth of audio and video on a single floppy that you can view on the camera's 2.5- inch LCD screen or on your computer.
If its $999 list price tag is too high, then consider the MVC-FD73, for $599. It gives you smaller, 640 x 480 resolution, which means smaller pictures, but it also means you can fit 40 of them on a single floppy.
Incidentally--Camera aficionados tend to scoff at the Mavicas because you can get smaller cameras with more features and better image quality for the same price. But while the Mavicas are bigger, because they have to hold a floppy, their new version of "instant" photography is worth checking out.
Safe, Not Sorry
You're probably familiar with X10 home- security technology. You press a button in a control box in one room of your house, and it turns lamps and appliances on or off in another part of the house. The old X10 controls, however, sent signals through existing house wiring. What's new are devices that combine computer control with house wiring and wireless transmission. In fact, The PC-Managed Home Security with Total Home Control System ($599; from Honeywell Inc.) is a complete X10-based home security system, working through a home computer.
Other devices are taking home security to new levels. Take the XCam Anywhere ($149; from X10.com). It comes with a small, weatherproof minicam that captures and transmits full- motion video and audio for viewing on a PC or regular TV. You can set up a NannyCam or even make your own Blair Witch Project documentary.
Incidentally, X10.com is sponsoring a promotional giveaway on its Web site. For $5.90, to cover shipping and handling, you get a kit worth $70 that lets you control lights and appliances remotely from your computer or from a wireless remote.
Worldly Connections
The Ericsson I 888 World dual band mobile phone (www.ericsson.com/us/phones) is not the lightest or smallest phone (get the 4.2 ounce Motorola Star TAC ST7760 if that's what you want). What this 8-ounce phone gives you is connectivity almost anywhere in the world. You can use this phone in 120 countries, using the same phone number. So you can reach anyone, or be reached by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Prices start at $299.
Screen Saver
There's little doubt that the next major device for home TVs will be the HDR--the hard- disk recorder--which records programs on a hard disk, just as the VCR (video cassette recorder) records programs on tape. And HDRs promise to profoundly change the way you watch television.
If the phone rings during your favorite program, for example, you simply press a button on the remote, and it starts recording. When you come back five minutes later, you can continue watching the program from where you left off, while the HDR keeps recording. It's like a time-delay mechanism: you keep watching what the HDR recorded five minutes earlier.
There will be a lot of HDRs within a couple of years, but for now there are only two major choices--the TiVo and ReplayTV. The $499 TiVo (from TiVo Inc.; www.tivo .com) is about the same size as a VCR, but holds a 13.6 gigabyte hard disk capable of recording 14 hours of television. A $999 model has a 27.2 GB hard disk, and records 30 hours. Each model requires you to sign up for an integrated "TV Guide"-type service (either $9.95 per month or a one-time fee of $199 for lifetime service) that feeds programming data into the TiVo, making it easy to get it to record your favorite television shows by name or even by subject. At $700 to $1,500, ReplayTV (from Replay Networks Inc.) is more expensive, but the TV-programming data service is free.
TV as Art
Granted, $15,000 is a lot to pay for a TV. But the Philips 42PW9962 Plasma Display TV is more than your standard television--it's a work of art. Only 4.5 inches thick, the Plasma Display hangs on the wall like a huge (42-inch x 24- inch) painting. And you can see the bright display anywhere in a 160-degree viewing angle. It comes with a complete audio package, with Dolby Pro Logic processing and 15 speakers.
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